Monday, 14 April 2014

Thanks to Retrobution RecordsI now own precisely one South African punk 7". It's a total dunderhead smash, all self-obsessed lyrics that cheekily dismiss not only the established musical stars of the past (Elvis, Bowie, 'Buddy Cochrane' etc.) but their punk peers:

I keep resolving not to buy so many reissues, to support new music, but if labels keep releasing reissues this entertaining that resolution will continue to prove tricky to stick to. It's good to know that the South African youth of the late 70s/early 80s could sneer with the best of them!

Sunday, 13 April 2014

A former member of a famous indie group once sneered at me "You're so nice I bet you fart daisies" during an interview. That sure showed me. Yeah! That put-down bubbled to the surface again while listening to Chicago's soda shop pop kids, The Lemons. They're just so relentlessly upbeat and smiling and concerned with sweeties and kids' stuff. Undoubtedly their music will be too saccharine for most but Not Unloved has never shied away from perky, wholesome pop music if it's made with the right spirit; we're not all leather clad rock'n'roll beasts after all. Their brief songs - most of them make "Velocity Girl" look like a prog epic - have the same zest (ha!) for life as The Magic Kids or The Langley Schools Music Project. Sometimes an escape from the grey drudgery of the adult world is much needed. Their"Hello, We're The Lemons" tape (Gnar/ Tripp) comes with a sticker and a download code*.